Staturday Fantasy Edition: Los Angeles Preview

Did you know that the same four drivers finished in the top four spots in the Sunday Red Bull Global Rallycross finals at the Port of Los Angeles in each of the past two years?

In 2015, Scott Speed beat Brian Deegan to the line, with Tanner Foust taking third over Patrik Sandell. Last year, Deegan and Speed switched spots, as did Sandell and Foust, with Speed’s runner-up finish still good enough to earn the championship.

And while this year’s Los Angeles finale is a singleheader instead of a doubleheader, we’re still expecting some great racing action. Much like the Seattle event at Evergreen Speedway, this year’s Los Angeles event will feature a similar track to what we saw in 2016, so the below times work as a direct guideline for this year’s action. We’ll be using the Sunday numbers from last year, as that race, like this year’s, served as the season finale—meaning drivers weren’t holding anything back in an all-out chase for the championship.

Here’s what our returning drivers laid down last October. Use these numbers wisely:

Supercar

No. /

Driver Name /

Practice /

Qualifying /

Semifinal /

Final /

00

Steve Arpin

42.379

42.776

41.882

48.999*

14

Austin Dyne

43.109

43.078

43.237

45.063*

18

Patrik Sandell

42.966

42.877

43.017

42.044

24

Mitchell deJong

42.553

42.550**

43.751

42.092

34

Tanner Foust

42.210

42.765

42.139

41.999

41

Scott Speed

42.283

42.819

41.743

42.147

55

Chris Atkinson

42.864

42.594

43.568

42.089

75

David Higgins

43.387

43.573

—*

42.883

93

Sebastian Eriksson

43.247

43.021

42.397

42.112

*driver did not complete clean lap due to contact
**first-round qualifying lap; driver did not complete final-round lap despite advancing

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross duo of Tanner Foust and Scott Speed are safe picks here. But if you’re looking for something a bit more original, check out Chris Atkinson and Mitchell deJong. Atkinson won the pole in final-round qualifying last year, and posted a fast lap on par with Foust in the main event. Meanwhile, deJong’s first-round qualifying lap was actually faster than the overall pole time, and he posted comparable times to Foust and Speed for much of the weekend.

GRC Lites

No. /

Driver Name /

Qualifying /

Semifinal /

Final /

3

Travis PeCoy

45.453

43.377

—*

21

Conner Martell

44.955

43.969

44.991

24

Alex Keyes

43.577

42.715

42.930

25

James Rimmer

45.740

45.654

45.321**

44

Christian Brooks

44.637

42.962

49.706*

53

Cole Keatts

46.586

44.332

45.308**

77

Scott Anderson

45.009

43.905

43.778

126

Alejandro Fernandez

45.380

43.459

45.545

*driver did not complete clean lap due to contact
**driver eliminated prior to final; last chance qualifier lap used

Despite dominating the entire doubleheader last season, Alex Keyes wasn’t able to take the win on Sunday when a wheel came off of his car from the lead with just a few laps to go. Still, he makes for a safe pick among the returning drivers in California, as the Folsom native was nearly untouchable before the bout of bad luck. Christian Brooks, now Keyes’ teammate, showed flashes of speed as well, as the only other returning driver to break the 43-second barrier in the semifinals.

What do you think, Red Bull GRC fans: will the same drivers who were fast in Los Angeles last year find the magic once again? Be sure to tell us in the comments!